It is known that due to the nature of writing instruments, such as pens, markers, crayons, pencils and permanent markers and especially when there are a lot of them, for use in the graphic arts or just to draw as a hobby, it is necessary to keep them together and organized to allow the user easy access to them.
A simple solution for the previous situation is the usage of a case that is provided with fastening means for each writing instrument, allowing a perfect organization according to the user's needs. There are a lot of types of cases like this. Some examples are as follows:
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,622 (Cramer, 1989) describes a sectional container which has at least one front section and one rear section coupling together to form a closed package; the back wall of the front section is used to close the front of the rear section and vice versa. As an option, this sectional container can have one or more intermediate sections that match to the rear section or between the front and rear section to enlarge the container's capacity; the intermediate sections are identical and interchangeable. This alternative offers several advantages due to its modularity and coupling between pieces, however these advantages make the whole container voluminous and produces the problem of organizing the intermediate pieces when decoupled to have access to writing material.
The alternative in U.S. Pat. No. D315,446 (Dietterich et al, 1991) partially solves the difficulties of the previously mentioned container, because it describes a box to keep markers, where they are set in several supports arranged in a parallel arrangement located in the box's body, which has a transparent lid that opens and closes when it turns on a hinge, and the container is installed directly onto a wall by means of screws; with that, it is guaranteed that the material will be organized and always handy; however it seems that the installation on the wall by screws is durable and when user requires to transport the material, this operation will require the usage of special tools (screwdrivers) in order to separate the box from the wall.
On the contrary, the U.S. Pat. No. D390,357 (Rosen, 1998) shows a portable case made with a transparent material which has a hinged lid, that allows portability and easy handling of the whole case and its contents, but it is the user's responsibility to know the location of the case in every moment to avoid its loss.
Similar to the previous, the U.S. Pat. No. D392,463 (Grey, 1998) offers a container with areas designated for storage and possible retention of writing instruments. That container has two sections, front and rear, joined by hinges along one of their edges. It is also provided with the means for closing between both sections, as well as a handle for its transportation. On the other hand, the U.S. Pat. No. 6,680,933 (Demisien et al, 2004) describes a container that offers the same advantages and disadvantages as the one described before, with some changes in the way the writing instruments are held in place in its interior, associated to the shape of the walls of the container; additionally this design includes the means to hang the container when it is closed.
Finally, two alternatives for the usage of the lid of the container for writing instrument from the ones considered here, are shown on U.S. Pat. No. 6,913,143 (Yang, 2005) and the design patent U.S. Pat. No. D538,032S (Rosen et al, 2007). The first one offers a container in which the lid can be detached, because in a different way from the hinged joint of the previous models, in which said joint is formed by the same material as the sections to be joined, in this case the assembly is done by using pivots (threaded screws) that join the front section (lid) and the rear section of the container in two collinear points; the separation of the lid can be achieved by taking out the pivots. In Rosen's design, the lid, which is hinged to the container's body in a similar manner as Yang's patent, can be pivoted in order to provide a support for the entire container. However, in both cases the possibility of the pieces getting loose is still present or, at least, there is a risk of contents of the case can get out if the container is thrown by accident.